We have been talking about those who seek God’s mercy.  Now let us discover how we may obtain this mercy from God?  Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”  We want to start with considering the Lord Jesus Himself.  I want you to remember in your need for mercy, that you have a Savior in Heaven Who understands your dilemma. Jesus never did drugs, but he knows what it is like to have a craving that is almost overwhelming, a desire to escape reality. He knows what it is like to be tempted to go get drunk. He knows what it is like. Every temptation that we will ever face in our lives, Jesus faced a similar temptation, yet without ever yielding to sin.  How could God have mercy on a sinner except God take on the form of a sinner and endure what it is like to be a sinner? That is how Jesus can be our merciful and faithful high priest.  When you have need of mercy, you need to consider Jesus and run to that throne of grace.

Second, to receive mercy we must come boldly.  Hebrews 4:16 makes it clear, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” This phrase means “to approach frankly, bluntly, candidly, truthfully, and with confidence.” I know we all have certain “canned” prayers. If I asked you to pray for a meal, and you pray for the meal, chances are next week if I ask you to pray for a meal, it is going to sound very much like the prayer you said last week.  I am not being critical of those things at all, but when the Bible talks about coming boldly before the throne of grace, it means “to come with a transparent honesty.” This is a person who comes to God and says, “Life has brought me to the very end of my rope, and I’m losing my grip. I have no more mercy to give them. I need mercy from You, or I am not going to make it.”

I live on Riverside Boulevard, on the other side of Interstate 90 from our church.  There is a bridge there that I think they have been rebuilding for a hundred years now.  When you go eastbound on Riverside, there are signs up that say stay in right lane, lane closure ahead. When I get to McFarland Road, I have to get in the right-hand lane.  I am following the traffic laws and I am in the right lane, even though there is more traffic there.  Invariably, someone comes along in the left lane and tries to cut into my lane in front of me at the last second.  What is the natural reaction?  I want to give them a piece of my mind.  I want to lay on the horn.  I want to cut them off.  What do I do?  I flee to the throne of grace for more mercy!  I do not want to give them any mercy at all, but I need to. That is the way my life is…and the way your life is. This illustration my not seem like that big of a deal, but the truth is, there are always going to be people around us who need mercy and then need more mercy.

What do you do when you run out?  You stop and think about the wonderful Savior we have Who loves you in spite of who you are, or where you are and what you have done; and you go back to Him and you say, “I’m here, and I’ll admit to You that I don’t deserve anything from You but judgment, but I need a big dose of mercy today.” Come boldly to the throne of grace because the outcome is already settled; you can obtain mercy.  The word obtain means “to accept with amazement.” It is amazing that we can give mercy to others, but it is even more amazing that God extends mercy to us in the first place.

Let me close with this analogy.  We talked earlier about our tendency to loosen our grip and let things drift.  We have been offered “grace to help in time of need.”  This help is like taking a rope and tying our vessel tight to the moorings to stop our tendency to drift away.” When you come boldly before the throne of God’s grace, you will obtain mercy, you will find grace to wrap ropes tightly around your grip to help you stay tied to the moorings. So, where do we go when we run out of mercy? Go to Him. Go to that throne of grace, obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. Paul A. Kingsbury

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This past week I asked our International Director, Bro. Burks, to put together a list to help struggling chapters retain visitors in tough times. The list he provided is based on phone calls that he and his staff have fielded; discussions with successful directors; and several years of his own personal experience as an RU Director in Virginia.  The main focus of this week’s report is how to turn visitors into students. I trust that you will consider implementing these proven strategies in developing your God-given, extremely sensitive and important visitors into active, participating students.  It is the first step to achieving any hope of turning the addicted to the God’s support group—the local church!

Issue 1: The Friday Night Atmosphere!

The official itinerary is integral to creating an atmosphere that portrays a consistent message to every visitor. That message MUST contain the following key ingredients:

1. “No matter your struggles, we are an addiction program that can help you or your loved one.” This message usually takes place twice. Once in a profound statement of sorts in the tri-talk introduction and more importantly, and with definition, in the weekly New Beginnings class.
2. The New Beginnings group leader (who should be a type A, sold-out, RU promoter) should explain the success rate of local chapters of Reformers Unanimous all across America. Some chapters may be very small in attendance compared to others. Credibility will be established if you give them a glimpse of the success rate. Jay Griffin, a Director in Milford, Ohio tells me, “of the students that completed the Stronghold book in their chapter, they had a 93% success rate.” You can safely say there are over 20,000 people any given week attending an addiction program that use the RU materials.  Our RU program graduates simply succeed and that needs to be “hammered home.”  If not, doubt sets in to the validity of a church and Bible-based program in the minds of new students.
3. They should also reiterate this again when they make their mandatory visit on their visitors that week.  Yes! Mandatory visits are expected.  If you sense your New Beginnings class teacher is ineffective, you should replace him quickly. But until you can, the Director should make those visits instead to ensure the student can speak up about any mis-perceptions.

1. An environment of transparency is needed during the first and second talks for this program to be effective. If a student comes to a chapter and the church members are perceived as perfect people without problems, it will be an immediate turn-off to potential students. I cannot stress the importance of everyone on our leadership teams viewing ourselves as student’s first, servants second, and teachers third. By our own participation in all aspects of the program and curriculum, it will create an example for students to follow.

Issue 2: We must remember that Reformers Unanimous is a milk ministry, and avoid serving strong meat.

1. It is necessary to remember that Reformers Unanimous deals with heart issues and not issues of outward conformity. We should avoid discussing hot-topic issues that would be considered strong meat and stick to the modus operandi that we are here to turn their hearts toward the Lord. Standards, for the most part are for the leadership staff to know and follow but not teach as part of RU training.  Of course, some exceptions may apply; but if so, we encourage individual coaching over entire class teaching. When faced with a student who is newer and inquisitive of such things as listed in number one above, a leader should use phrases such as, “That’s a good question, see me after class and we’ll talk about that, but right now let’s stay focused on issues we faced this week in our recovery.” Or perhaps even the phrase, “That’s a great question, let me give you some verses after class to look into that,” in order to turn the conversation in a right direction.
2. Directors should avoid attacking Christian or political figures or denominations and their leaders on Friday night. This will only tear down any influence that you may have in their life, especially those who are new.  Warning the flock is the responsibility of the Pastor, not the RU leaders.
3. It is good for the Director to occasionally remind the students that as their attendance increases, so does the chance that they will hear truths which may take as offensive. Encourage them to allow God to use inside persuasion of His Spirit and the outside pressure of the Word and authority to guide them in right truth.

Issue 3: Reactivate the 2-3-4 Plan and ensure that it is happening every single week.

1. Again, I repeat that every first-time visitor should get a visit by the director or the New Beginnings class leader before the next Friday night. I can remember those early days inviting students, from Friday night, on Saturday afternoon to come on Sunday morning to the second class and taking them to lunch with me on my dime to encourage them to return the next Friday. I had more students join our church as a result of this than any other.
2. One big mistake is the transition between the Beginner’s class and the challenge groups. It should be understood that every person that walks through the door is in the New Beginnings, or Beginners, class and are an active part of the 2-3-4 Plan. I have heard of 2 options to make sure this happens. The first is that the burden is on the Beginner’s Class leadership and Director to make sure the 2-3-4 Plan is implemented on every visitor until they get in a group. The second option is to assign every first time visitor on their second wee, to a group, whether they return or not. The leader will actively pursue them for their class. It is often true that a student doesn’t care what we know until they know that we care.  A visit shows you care.
3. Use the RU official FastTrack software to track the 2-3-4 Plan properly and hold each leader accountable to the calls, postcards, and visits every single week. If a student misses several weeks in a row, and receives no contact from the leadership, the enemy will plant seeds of doubt that we don’t care and are not concerned about their recovery. Please be sure to communicate quarterly to inactive students.

Issue 4: Encourage curriculum participation for every student.

1. 1. The best way to encourage students to do challenges is for the leadership to have completed challenges.
   2. If a student seems to be resistant in doing challenges, it is time for that leader to meet with them privately and find out the root cause. If they have memory problems or get stuck on particular challenges, then creatively find a way to shorten or go around those challenges to keep a student motivated and participating.
   3. Have a dynamic award ceremony. If the award ceremony is not exciting it may come across as something childish for a brand new student. This is a time we praise our students for doing what is right. It can be extremely profitable and a motivational technique in keeping visitors who never get good news.  Have all students come up front to get their awards and have them stay until awards are completed and a final applause is given.  Encourage participation to those still seated who may not be progressing but sensing conviction as a result.  Be careful not to condemn.
   4. If you cannot have an exciting awards ceremony every week, postpone it some weeks or have it faithfully every two weeks.

Issue 5: During the third talk, the director’s message from the Nevertheless I Live Textbook should be relevant to the struggles people face while in their addiction.

A recent phone call into my office by a student who attended an RU broke my heart.  I began to feel his pain for help but having not received it at a local chapter in which he had placed his initial hope by attendance. At this particular chapter, the director has chosen to preach sermons lasting sixty minutes while pupils fall asleep (these were his words). When I suggested he purchase our Nevertheless I Live syllabus for his own learning, his words were, “If the director of my chapter would have used this text book and taught it from his heart I know I would have gotten the help I need.” Directors, I would rather you have a 25 minute message from the RU Textbook and share 5 minutes of your heart to help the addicted every week than have you present profound truths that challenge your most matured students but lose your beginners. With the RU Friday night class being live streamed in Rockford and available for download later, there should be no excuse for each of you men to fine-tune your teaching and preaching skills by listening to the Founder and President every week in Rockford.  Brother Curington has now taught through the textbook 9 times in 14 years.  He is currently on a pace that will take him two years to go through it once.  It’s getting more relevant each year, not less.  That’s God…not the outline or the teacher.

Other Suggestions:

1.) Read something from the Founder of RU every day.  Have you experienced the blessing of Today I Lay, Umbrella Fella or his newest book on Peace?  They are relevant for YOU to be relevant to them.

2.) Read or listen on MP3 to the whole chapter that you’re teaching every Friday night that you are teaching it.  If a chapter takes three weeks, read that chapter three times (once weekly).  Then prepare days before you preach that chapter portion.   Use second talk in order to distribute and collect 2-3-4 plans and to encourage students.  A five minute refresher before you preach would be helpful at that time too.

3.) Ask God to give you wisdom on how to effectively present the Hidden Life message to your people.

4.) Always give an invitation for salvation and spiritual development.

Many chapters are successfully getting visitors weekly through the “Battle is ON” outreach, along with other techniques they have found successful. If you struggle to get visitors, please, call our office today! (815-986-0460) If your struggle is to keep them, then heed these listed checkpoints.

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Dear RU Nation

MANUFACTURE RECALL:  Here at Adversity University, we have come to EXPECT bad things to happen for the good reason of glorifying God in all we do and say.  It has become our expectation that whatever could go wrong…should go wrong! And for that we glorify Him.  So it came as no surprise when our new awards vendor called and RECALLED our recently received name badges that had been on backorder for so long.   The claim was “faulty glue” on the first 1,000 of 5,000 received.  We have no way of knowing which ones went out that were faulty; but if you have name badges with pins falling off relatively easily, please do two things.  First – call us for replacement badges.  We are expecting a new shipment (to come within next few days) which will meet our product quality expectations.  Secondly -  glorify God with us in being chosen by Him to endure difficulty through a another “pop quiz” at Adversity University.

2010 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE:  Adversity University XI.  Mark your calendars for September 27-30, 2010, for another exciting RU international conference! You won’t want to miss this year’s crucial teaching.  As we develop our ministries through seasons of change and times of disappointment, we want to clearly pronounce that the only successful form of ministry is and always will be an expression of the fruit of the Spirit – love.  Join us this year for “The Way IS Agape”. Experiencing, enjoying, and understanding God’s agape love is the “first love” that we ought to never leave as our ministries become taxed with difficulty.  Directors, this is the year to bring you students and leaders , more so than any other; for your love for them can only be matched by the love they could bestow upon others on His behalf.  Nearly 100 educational sessions on effective outreach (evangelism), in-reach (discipleship), up-reach (worship) and down-reach (Spiritual empowerment) will be offered.

REFORMERS UNANIMOUS SCHOOLS OF DISCIPLESHIP—MAJOR OPPORTUNITY!  We thank the Lord for the churches who have helped us influence more people with the curriculum of RU by opening their very own discipleship homes patterned after our program in Rockford, Illinois.  If your church is interested in a ministry such as this for your community, we are here to help.  Whether you need help with your business model, ideas for finding affordable housing, staff training or advice, we stand by to stand with you.

Not every chapter can be blessed with what God has given North Love Baptist Church and its RU headquarters.  Our beautiful facilities and trained staff and teaching grant your students an opportunity to experience residential discipleship with a quality that is hard to duplicate anywhere—to God be the glory!  As well, we are fortunate to be able to do so at a price much lower than secular or social treatment.  Though we cannot afford to be a completely free program like others who operate out of apartments or houses using limited staff, we also understand we also cannot possibly offer help to every single person RU reaches with the current size of the headquarters’ facilities.  This has allowed us to be blessed to send students to churches who stand in the gap with their smaller, but still effective discipleship houses.  Personally, I think there could be an RU patterned home in every state in America and every one of them could be kept full!  That’s how great the need is for our low cost option or other’s no cost option.

With that said, we still want the Rockford RU to remain the first option for your student’s intense discipleship.  We feel strongly in our residency discipleship program’s success rate.  We are pleased to report our program success has grown even more effective over the course of the last 18 months.  Our recent survey of grads or parents of grads reports increase of those experiencing victory in Christ over their addiction from 82% to 87%.  Equally high numbers (plus or minus a few percentage points) report being faithful to church and in a right relationship with their family.  God has been so good to these grads who have continued in the things that they have learned.

*****With the opening of the new ladies’ home, allowing us to move our graduate program into the Mulberry facility, Rockford can now open more beds for both men and women and reduce our overall operating costs.  This is a much needed relief for us and also gives us the ability to offer something we have wished for so long.  For those chapters or churches who love or prefer the Rockford Schools of Discipleship and would like to send someone here for FREE, I have a new funding system that will allow each chapter that qualifies to have a FREE scholarship to the men’s and women’s home (that’s two scholarships) available to them at all times.  That’s right FREE!  If you are interested in this, please email me at weneedu@reformu.com or call me personally to discuss.  I will only be offering twenty church scholarships.  We already have two churches who have qualified and have students attending for free right now!  Call my secretary, Beth, at extension 100 and tell her you’re interested in the Church Scholarship Program for more details*******

WOMAN’S PROGRAM LAUNCH:  After 18 months of reconstruction, our men’s schools of discipleship have nearly completed our R.U.T.H. Home.  As with any church-based building project, we have faced many difficult circumstances and much resistance.  Through it all, our testimonies remained strong and God’s glory and many miracles were enjoyed.  We thank God for these hard working men who worked this project at less than one third of every bid we had.  Though our men had to work through capital raising slowdowns and city and architect squabbling, their abilities and resolve have saved tens of thousands of dollars. This good stewardship has been blessed by God in many ways.  Effective April 1^st, we will begin taking applicants for this new home and have decided to increase our occupancy from 25 girls to 40 as God provides.  With a recent graduation bringing us down to 20 girls, we are going to use a limited time special to help us fill this beautiful building with precious and needy ladies.  Please be advised that we are offering a 50% scholarship to the first 20 applicants who screen successfully for our program.  If there is anyone in your RU ministry, church or family who has needs or has contemplated entering our program, now is the time to make every effort to get them here.  We hope this offer will be met with the enthusiasm necessary to stimulate your students to give residency discipleship a legitimate part of their lives for long lasting benefit.

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Steven Curington
Watch our Friday Night Class Live at 7 p.m. tonight!  Click Here

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1 Corinthians 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”

As the verse above states, all of us are what we are because of the grace of God. If it were not for the grace of God, I fear to think where I would be today. Though I was not saved out of a so-called “wicked” lifestyle, it is only by God’s grace that I have become what I am today. I love what Steve Curington often says, “We are all a bunch of drug addicts, but some of us just got delivered before we ever had the chance to use.” I am sure there are many who will read this devotional who can only thank and praise God for His grace when they look at where they were before they got saved and compare it to where they are now. However, I am sure there are others who forgot the pit from which they were delivered.

This is what the Apostle Paul was trying to teach the Christians at Corinth. He used his life as an example of what God’s grace can do for a person. He discussed with this church how he previously persecuted the church of God before his salvation, but he reminded them that it was only because of God’s grace that he became what he was, an apostle of Jesus Christ. He said because God had bestowed His grace upon him, He would labor more abundantly to make sure that God’s grace was not bestowed upon him in vain. Then he proceeded to remind us that it would not even be him laboring to prove this, but the grace of God wherein he was magnifying.

Every one of us need to realize that it is only by God’s grace that anything good or useful would come forth from us. Though I am a preacher of the Gospel of Christ, it is not because I deserve to be one, but because of God’s grace bestowed upon me. Whatever and whoever you are in Christ, you must remember that you are that only because of God’s grace. Nobody deserves to be what we are in the church; it is only by God’s grace that we are what we are. We should never get high-minded because of a position. We need to keep in mind that we are only what we are by God’s grace.

Because God’s grace has been bestowed upon us, we should have an attitude of gratitude. Don’t waste the grace of God upon your life by living for yourself. Don’t waste the grace of God upon your life by committing sin. Don’t waste the grace of God upon your life by doing only what you want to do.

Is your life a waste of the grace of God? Have you responded with a heart of appreciation for the grace that He has bestowed upon you? Everyday should be a day when we show God our appreciation for the grace He bestowed upon us by living right continually in His power and serving under the influence of His Spirit. Make it a goal, that at the end of every day you can say that you have expressed to God your appreciation for the grace that He has bestowed in you and through you. We will not have to work extra hard to do this, all we must do is remember…it is the grace of God doing in you and not you in the doing!

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Psalm 107:1-9

Good morning! I praise God that you joined me today as I have this awesome opportunity to share with you a portion of God’s Word that has tremendously impacted my life over the past several days. Today I would like to talk to you about, “Satisfaction For The Hungry Soul.” My following two blogs will cover, “Deliverance For The Bound Soul” and “Healing For The Sick Soul.”

The first division of this blessed Psalm depicts God’s people in a desert wilderness setting. Their desperate situation was a direct result of both outward extremity as well as their own insufficiency. The homeward march was through foreign territory – barren, solitary, and inhospitable in every way imaginable. No wonder weariness characterized each struggling traveler (vv4-5). It would be difficult to visualize a less satisfying situation.

The prayer of faith dramatically changed the picture. The environment remained the same, but changes within made even a desert seem like a taste of heaven on earth – God saw to that (v. 6). The distress they experienced was for a purpose: God wanted them to come to the place where they would look solely to Him. In this way they would not be disappointed, for God forever delights to prove Himself faithful in behalf of them who trust Him for sustaining, overflowing grace. How was that response which God desired expressed? Believing prayer!

God answered their prayer. The Lord led them out of their dilemma “by the right way,…to a city of habitation” (v. 7). They were not only led through the wilderness to the promised destination, but also provided with complete satisfaction of every need en route. What a tremendous representation this is of what God wants to do for you and me when we, too, find ourselves burdened down and about to faint under the load! Are we in need of Heaven-sent nourishment for our weary souls today? Then tell God about it! He delights to answer such requests (v. 9).

The philosophies, pleasures, and riches of this world are no more conducive to satisfying the longings of the believer than the desert is in quenching the thirst of a dying man. Christ alone will satisfy. Also, spiritual famine is invariably the result of setting our sights on the temporal rather than the eternal. Always remember, God delights to meet our EVERY need, but He wants us to seek first our greatest need of all, the peace and fullness of God (Phil. 4:7). “Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Lk. 12:31).

“The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isa. 58:11). There’s no excuse for a desert experience today!

I pray that the Lord will bless your ministry as we walk in Him.

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